Kolkata: Of the five T20Is against England earlier this year, Arshdeep Singh played in three. In the Asia Cup, it was limited to only two appearances, neither of them against Pakistan. Sunday was his first match on the Australia tour. His economy this year has been 8.87, just a shade above his career number – 8.37. And his strike rate is 15.7, better than Jasprit Bumrah’s 17.4 for this year.
Overall too Arshdeep’s strike rate is 13.2, while Bumrah’s is 17. The pacer naturally seams the ball away from the left-hander, has a deceptive bouncer and can hit the blockhole pretty regularly. Yet, Arshdeep is often forced to sit out because of India’s obsession with batting depth.
Like in Tests, you might want to ask what can an eighth batter bring to the table in T20 if the top seven can’t do the job. That too in Australia mind you, not the subcontinent where bowlers are limited by the slowness of the pitches. Early summer, the pitches in Australia offer more seam movement which Arshdeep with his action can exploit. But India’s strategy has been inexplicable, more so when the man behind is Gautam Gambhir, who had always championed the bowlers-first mentality as captain as well as coach at Kolkata Knight Riders.
It wasn’t as if India had gone in with a lot of fast bowling options, anyway. With no Mohammed Shami or Mohammed Siraj, the choice of second seamer boils down to Arshdeep or Harshit Rana. It’s true that but for Rana’s batting resilience, Abhishek Sharma would have run out of partners sooner in the Melbourne T20, but he was essentially a No.8 sent ahead of Shivam Dube — India’s designated middle-overs enforcer — at No 7.
In terms of experience and skill, Arshdeep comprehensively outscores Rana, but for India to ignore that for two matches straight raises questions over their long-term plans for the left-arm quick. Is he in the reckoning for next year’s T20 World Cup in India? Or will the batting depth issue forever consign him to the backup plans?
Arshdeep has the knack of taking wickets. At Hobart, he proved the ideal foil to Bumrah, luring Travis Head into a top edge, baiting Josh Inglis into going over leg and making Marcus Stoinis flash at a wide and low full toss. Those key wickets at key moments were the reason India were chasing 186 and not 200 plus.
Arshdeep was magnanimous in his success, pointing out that “when someone like Bumrah is bowling from the other end, batters often take more risks against me, which gives me wicket-taking opportunities” after the match. His skills are undeniable though, as he showed in the 2024 T20 World Cup victory.
And he must be doing something consistently right to become the quickest to 100 T20I wickets. Hobart was a timely reminder of that.
